What can I do (legally) regarding a store employee yelling and putting his finger in my child's face?

Question

My child ran down the isle at a store and was met by a store employee who started yelling at him while pointing his finger in his face.

I watched him yell at my child and tried to calm the employee down. I apologized that he was running and advised that I would take care of it but, I felt that he could've handled it differently. He then said we can handle this. I will call 911.

I said ok. I will wait for the police. I am sure that they will be happy to hear that you called them because you mistreated a child and the mother told you that you handled the situation badly.

I am going to review the store tape, with the manager and I wanted to know if I could press charges against this individual for verbally assaulting my child.

He did not threaten to hurt him but by putting his finger in his face, while yelling, it was very scary and certainly felt threatening to a six year old.

Also, do I have the right to request a copy of the tape?

Answer 1

Yes you have a right to a copy of the tape.  Considering the child is 6 the police might can charge the employee with simple assault.  Tell everyone you know what happened and I bet they lose business

Answer 2

YES DEFINITELY you can request a copy of the tape but with A COURT ORDER, meaning you have to come to court with a request through your lawyer to request a copy of the tape, but to me this is useless because the store kept the tape they can alter or modify the tape to their advantage, you know the technology now a days, they can even have to show that the child is the one who put his fingers to the employee of the store by hiring a child looking like your kid and make a new presentation of the tape together with the same clothes your kid on that occasion. The technology of our times and age is truely amazing, they can make people so small or bigger depending on their taste, 3D animation of film so you would be surprise finding a kid in a tape acting like a wierdo or the one yelling inside the store in that tape if your request a copy of it. SO NO NEED JUST FILE A COMPLAIN TO THE POLICE for child abuse and let the police handle it.

Answer 3

No.  Your kid was acting like a little kid.  The store employee had an attitude and yelled at him.  Your kid's behavior wasn't acceptable but it wasn't horrible.  There was no reason for anyone to get excited.  He didn't touch the kid, just yelled.  No big deal.

Answer 4

Perhaps you could teach your child how to behave properly in public places. Then you would not have this problem.

Answer 5

You can stop going there. Thats about it. The employee was rude, at best. Rude is not illegal.

The tape is the property of the store, you have no right to it without a court order. They will not give a court order because no laws were broken.

Answer 6

The crime of "Assault" is not touching someone (Contrary to popular belief), but it is rather "Placing another person in fear of the threat of bodily injury." This could certainly be the case.

Another idea would be "Disorderly Conduct" which is defined generally as "Actions of another person which are likely to cause a violent reaction or extreme fear."

Either may be a fit or a stretch. The outcome will depend on the local law enforcement's interpretation of the event.

Answer 7

Report it to the police right away or you won't have any such option.

And call the stores corporate headquarters and ask about lodging a complaint.

What state did this happen in?

Answer 8

There sint much you can do.

It was probably a Loss Prevention Officer for the store. But for that reason there wasnt any laws that where broken